Hey folks. I've decided that I want to add one of the small 1911 style .380 pistols to my arsenal. Looks like Sig, Colt, and Kimber are what I have to choose from. I know there are bigger 1911 .380's out there but I want to keep it at the size of these guns. I'm not looking for laser sights, fancy finishes, or anything like that. Just a basic black or silver 1911 from one of these three makes with standard sights. Is one superior to the others in any way? Do they have much parts interchangeability? I'm leaning towards Sig as I trust them more than the other two. Strangely enough, Kimber is the cheapest of the three. I don't want the ambidextrous safety as I am right handed and the other side of the safety is uncomfortable to me. Any experiences or opinions appreciated!

_________________"It ain't who shoots first and it ain't who shoots most; it's who HITS first. A corollary - the sooner you kill that SOB, the sooner he'll quit shooting at you. The ability to hit what you're shooting at trumps all others, and hanging 47 accessories from a cheese-grater forearm and having a 30 round magazine won't help that - practice will." -Rugerforum.com member WWB

These are even smaller than the Browning version, which I believe is a truly scaled down 1911.

_________________"It ain't who shoots first and it ain't who shoots most; it's who HITS first. A corollary - the sooner you kill that SOB, the sooner he'll quit shooting at you. The ability to hit what you're shooting at trumps all others, and hanging 47 accessories from a cheese-grater forearm and having a 30 round magazine won't help that - practice will." -Rugerforum.com member WWB

I have a Star Model S, which is essentially a scaled down 1911. It shoots good, is reliable and a lot of fun. I do not carry it because it is similar in size to the LC9s that I have and if I am going for a gun that size, I want the advantages of the 9. It does make a nice range gun though.

For everyday Mendon carry, the LCP is my choice for that. If I am going to K-zoo or D-troit or any other larger town, the 9 goes with me.

_________________5ive

"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men".....PLATO

Amendment X:The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

I picked up a Kimber Micro and was underwhelmed. I love Kimbers, butIMO they shot themselves in the foot with the micro.

Sigs are . . . . . . Sigs. Their small one in .380 is just too small for me. Ihave a problem getting a good grip on it. But that's me.

Colts are not my cup of tea.

Sooooooo, out of the three, I'd go with Sig. (YMMV).

_________________BN - Life member, NRA . . . . . . . . NRA Certified Instructor~ If they can get you asking the wrong questions,..... it doesn't matter what the answer is.~ Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence.~ Don't handicap your children by making things too easy.

What did you not like about the Kimber? Right now the Micro stainless is what I am leaning towards.

_________________"It ain't who shoots first and it ain't who shoots most; it's who HITS first. A corollary - the sooner you kill that SOB, the sooner he'll quit shooting at you. The ability to hit what you're shooting at trumps all others, and hanging 47 accessories from a cheese-grater forearm and having a 30 round magazine won't help that - practice will." -Rugerforum.com member WWB

What did you not like about the Kimber? Right now the Micro stainless is what I am leaning towards.

The one I handled had a trigger that was comparable to an extremely cheap (as in not worth the money) imitation, the slide movement waspoor, at best and the safety . . . well it was much like the trigger.

As I said, I love Kimbers, but not the micro. I think you could compare it to the very early rim-fire Kimbers, for quality.

As they came out I got a Solo and my main complaint with it was theamount of "fun" it was to shoot. Much less "fun" than the Ultra Cary in a.45ACP. That said, it was FAR better made than the Micro. YMMV.

_________________BN - Life member, NRA . . . . . . . . NRA Certified Instructor~ If they can get you asking the wrong questions,..... it doesn't matter what the answer is.~ Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence.~ Don't handicap your children by making things too easy.

Well, Kimber it is. Went to the fun store today planning to ask about the stainless Kimber Micro and they had one under the glass for $500.00 so I layawayed it. The trigger on this particular example is just fine for my taste and the manual safety has a nice firm detent to engage and disengage. The owner said the Micro series has gotten very popular and he sold another one just before I arrived. I still find it amusing that Kimber was the least expensive choice here. Sig would be my preference but it doesn't come without night sights and so costs a lot more. With Colt of course you pay extra for those pretty pony medallions and the front sight is integral to the slide, meaning that it requires mill work if you want to replace it.

I'm surprised at how small these .380 1911's are. The Micro is about the same size as the Ruger LCP II in th case next to it. The Micro grip is slightly longer, the LCP II slide is slightly longer, both are about the same thickness. The Micro slid down into my pocket almost as easily as the standard LCP does, certainly easier than my Glock 42 or S&W 637 do. Looking forward to bailing it out!

P.S. If there was a comparable Sig 238 under the glass for, say, $550.00 or less I probably would have gone with that instead. Still, the Micro seems like a nice gun.

_________________"It ain't who shoots first and it ain't who shoots most; it's who HITS first. A corollary - the sooner you kill that SOB, the sooner he'll quit shooting at you. The ability to hit what you're shooting at trumps all others, and hanging 47 accessories from a cheese-grater forearm and having a 30 round magazine won't help that - practice will." -Rugerforum.com member WWB

_________________BN - Life member, NRA . . . . . . . . NRA Certified Instructor~ If they can get you asking the wrong questions,..... it doesn't matter what the answer is.~ Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence.~ Don't handicap your children by making things too easy.

Hopefully so. From what I have read most of the problems with this gun vanished with an updated recoil spring from Kimber or the Wolff 12 pound Colt Mustang spring. In any event, my local dealer stands behind every gun he sells 100%. He will make it right even if the factory won't.

_________________"It ain't who shoots first and it ain't who shoots most; it's who HITS first. A corollary - the sooner you kill that SOB, the sooner he'll quit shooting at you. The ability to hit what you're shooting at trumps all others, and hanging 47 accessories from a cheese-grater forearm and having a 30 round magazine won't help that - practice will." -Rugerforum.com member WWB

I doubt you would have a problem with that. If you . . . ask . . . theservice rep about your issue (if you have any) they get very easyto deal with. The problems most had in the 90's were from TELLINGthem how to fix things.

_________________BN - Life member, NRA . . . . . . . . NRA Certified Instructor~ If they can get you asking the wrong questions,..... it doesn't matter what the answer is.~ Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence.~ Don't handicap your children by making things too easy.

I bailed out the Micro yesterday. Also picked up a couple of extra mags for it, glad to see they are very reasonably priced at $21.95 each at the fun store. Hopefully I can shoot it soon, all my reloading stuff and ammo is still in moving boxes.

_________________"It ain't who shoots first and it ain't who shoots most; it's who HITS first. A corollary - the sooner you kill that SOB, the sooner he'll quit shooting at you. The ability to hit what you're shooting at trumps all others, and hanging 47 accessories from a cheese-grater forearm and having a 30 round magazine won't help that - practice will." -Rugerforum.com member WWB

The sun came out today and I was able to take a break from unpacking to test drive the little Kimber. Distance was 18 feet, ammo was some cheapo Maxxtech FMJ (Combloc production, fairly accurate but dirty). I'm pleased to announce it did not disappoint. Function with this dirty ammo was 100% and within a few mags the Micro was shooting almost as well as my Glock 42. I tried a couple mags of Remington FMJ and accuracy was about the same but ejection and recoil were stronger with a small fireball coming out of the muzzle.

The only thing I might change is to go with a solid black rear sight was this would match my Glock 42, which has an OEM white dot front and Ameriglo flat black rear. So far very pleased with this little pistol and look forward to trying my reloads in it.

_________________"It ain't who shoots first and it ain't who shoots most; it's who HITS first. A corollary - the sooner you kill that SOB, the sooner he'll quit shooting at you. The ability to hit what you're shooting at trumps all others, and hanging 47 accessories from a cheese-grater forearm and having a 30 round magazine won't help that - practice will." -Rugerforum.com member WWB